The Ministry of Finance announced that the government aims to decrease the public debt-to-GDP ratio gradually over the next three years, to reach less than its level in 2011 by the end of the fiscal year (FY) 2021/22, the ministry stated in a press statement.

It added that the government targets to reduce the public debt-to-GDP to record 77.5% by the end of June 2022, which will subsequently ease the burden on the country’s debt service bill.

“The reduction in Egypt’s debt will help the government to allocate more funds to human development requirements, including education and health sectors,” the ministry stated.

It continued that the reduction of Egypt’s debt will also help the country in achieving higher growth rates, in addition to creating more jobs, which will subsequently improve the living standards for the citizens.

The ministry mentioned that the government succeeded in reducing the public debt-to-GDP ratio from 108% in June 2017 to 98% in June 2018, then to 90.5% a year later.

It continued that the government target to reduce this ratio to 82.5% in June 2020, and to decline further to 77.5% in June 2022.

The ministry assured that the government is working on achieving annual growth rates of at least 6% on average, along with 2% sustainable primary annual surplus until FY 2021/22.

A few days ago, the World Bank unveiled that Egypt’s external debt hiked year-over-year recording

$106.2bn during the first quarter of 2019, up from $88.16bn, an increase of 20.4%.